Chapter 20 - Elle #2
“But may I at least be excited with it?” Sara’s eyes were bright with excitement. “Elle, you are going to be a mother! And I will be the best aunt ever!”
Elle couldn’t help but laugh, the sound resigned. “You’re already planning baby showers, aren’t you?”
“You bet I am. But first, we need to celebrate. Just us.” Sara linked her arm through Elle’s. “Ice cream and terrible movies. Girl bonding time.”
“I can’t drink,” Elle pointed out.
“Duh. That’s more ice cream, which will make us celebrate.” Sara grinned. “Come on. When was the last time you simply had fun and didn’t think about visions or investigations or pack politics?”
Elle couldn’t remember. The last couple of weeks had been spent in mastering how to manage her magic, assisting in the investigation, and working on her relationship with Silas. She actually hadn’t relaxed and enjoyed herself since she came back.
“Okay,” she agreed. “Ice cream and horrible films sound exquisite.”
***
They spent the afternoon on the couch back home, devouring ice cream directly out of an ice cream tub and crying during rom-coms that not only made them laugh but also cry.
Sara described her childhood with her brothers and sisters, how Silas was when he was a boy, how he was a tease and dominating even then, how he had been so serious, and how he had sobbed the whole week when their childhood pet died.
Elle was more open, and she shared more about her years in the human world with her.
At some point, Sara looked at Elle and murmured, “You are so strong. I do not think that I would manage to go through what you went through and still be able to love and trust people.”
“You would be shocked at what you survive when you have no choice. You just do what you have to do. One day at a time.”
The nausea that had worn Elle out all day finally subsided as the afternoon dragged on. Maybe it was the distraction. Maybe it was the comfort of Sara’s friendship and the joy of sharing her secret. Or maybe the baby had decided to give her a break.
The front door opened halfway through the third film they were now watching, and Silas walked in.
Elle could immediately tell that something was wrong. His jaw was clenched, she could feel the frustration that was emanating out of him, and a look of defeat in his eyes. He resembled a man who had spent the entire day fighting a lost cause.
“Bad day?” Sara asked sympathetically.
“The worst,” Silas ran a hand through his hair. “All the leads that we have pursued have gone dead. Every source has dried up. We are just as far off the trafficking ring as we were five months ago.”
Elle’s heart ached at the exhaustion in his voice, at the defeat written in every line of his body. She got up, walked to him, and Silas pulled her into a hug and buried his face in her hair.
“We will work it out. We always do.”
“Do we?” Silas murmured against her hair. “I believe that we are chasing ghosts at this point. It’s like fighting shadows.”
Sara slipped away quietly, shooting Elle a look that told her to tell him about the baby. Elle shook her head, and Sara sighed and walked away.
Elle dragged Silas to the couch and sat next to him with their hands intertwined. “Tell me what happened.”
Silas drew in a sharp breath and informed her of the leads that looked good but turned out to be dead ends.
There were witnesses who had disappeared prior to interviewing, evidence destroyed.
“It is like there is always somebody who is ahead of us. Like they are aware of what we will do. We can’t catch a break. ”
Elle listened as he went on venting. She did not say anything about her pregnancy.
She did not wish to add to his burden. He already had his hands full with the pack.
They sat in silence a few minutes after Silas finally stopped talking.
Then Elle made a decision. She crawled into Silas’s lap, straddling his thighs, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“What are you doing?” Silas asked, surprise flickering across his exhausted features.
“Trying to distract you,” her fingers ran through his hair, the way he liked. “Is it working?”
Silas’s eyes grew dark. “It’s starting to.”
Elle leaned forward and kissed him on the neck just below the ear. Silas’ breath hitched. She kissed her way down to his pulse point. “How about now?”
“Getting there,” Silas groaned.
Elle did not stop there, but continued to press her lips against his neck and let her hands wander all over his shoulders and his chest. She could feel Silas responding beneath her, his body coming alive despite his exhaustion.
“Elle,” Silas groaned, his hands finding her hips and gripping tight.
“Hmm?” Elle pulled back just enough to look at him, her eyes full of mischief.
Silas just shook his head, grinning. Then he crashed his mouth against hers, tasting her.
His hand reached beneath her dress, and touched hot flesh, and went higher, to grab her ass and squeeze it.
Elle inhaled into the kiss, and Silas took the opportunity to press against her so that she felt exactly what she was doing to him.
Elle whimpered and broke the kiss. “Is it working now?”
“Damn right it is,” Silas pulled her back in for another searing kiss.
They lost themselves in each other, hands wandering, mouths open, heat building between them, all the strain of the day melting away. Elle rolled her hips, making Silas growl.
“We should,” he muttered between kisses. “Bedroom. We should—”
He was interrupted by a knock at the door.
They both went still, and Silas groaned.